Gretton Tower

Or more properly, "The Tower" is formally known as St Philip's Chapel of Ease.

Please check out the following pages for a brief history of the building, it's current situation and a gallery of further photos.

This Place of Worship was founded in the 11th century, but was closed in 1868.

The Tower is all that remains now, of this church which according to the guide book for St Peter's Church, Winchcombe (1983), was of Saxon origin.

It is Grade II Listed, and the British Listed Buildings website emphasises that all that's left now is the tower, which it
dates as 15th or 16th century.

It describes it as

"Tower, formerly at west end of church, now demolished. C15 or C16. Large
squared and dressed limestone blocks, pyramidal stone slate roof. Two-
storey, square with moulded drip to south east and west at half height,
3-light hollow chamfer mullioned and transomed window of C16 with 4-centred
head, west side and simple chamfered opening to east, on heavy respond caps.
Slit windows north, west, south in upper stage. Diagonal buttresses south-
west and north-west. This is all that remains of the church which was pro-
bably at the centre of the original development of Gretton as a village."

Officially Gretton Tower is now a curious combination of a Grade 2 Listed Building and Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The Tower itself is Grade 2 Listed yet the low stone wall and enclosed grassed area which mark out the footprint of the former nave, is the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Sadly, whilst the main body of the tower is basically sound, the Cotswold stone tiled roof is in a poor state of repair with tiles slipping off exposing the wooden rafters.

The state of decline is accelerating and a charitable preservation trust, Gretton Tower Trust, has been set up to repair the roof and preserve the building and grounds for the benefit of the wider
public for many more generations.